Friday, July 31, 2015

I just had to close out July by sharing one more pretty Christmas card from my collection. I'm not sure just how "vintage" it technically is; I believe it's from the 1980s or possibly late 1970s. The front of the card is all that I have, so there's nothing on the back to go by.

But I love this holly-trimmed lamp post with the flickering red candle inside. And even more, I love the little snowy village scene in the right background of the picture. So sweet!

And this wraps up Christmas in July here in my Christmas kitchen. Hope you've enjoyed the daily posts!

Thursday, July 30, 2015

In 2005 our dear friends sent us a pretty Christmas card with a detachable bookmark. The bookmark featured a lovely poem I would like to share with you today. I have tried to find the author but cannot. Just know it is not original with me, please. The artwork on the Christmas card was by Sandy Lynam Clough, so it's very possible the poem is her work as well. Here it is:

The Christmas Teacup

The pretty little

teacup was once

just a lump of clay,

until God's loving fingers

gently molded it one day.

Stronger and more

beautiful the teacup

soon became,

as its true purpose

was defined, no

lifeless clay remained.

So, let's sit down

and share a special

cup of Christmas tea,

and thank the Lord

for all He does to

fashion you and me

into the folks He

had in mind long

before our birth ...

the loved ones Jesus

came to save when He

came here to earth.

I have saved the bookmark all these years. Now it is time to share the poem with others!

This delicious-looking coffee cake contains real eggnog in the cake and in the glaze. I personally think a good coffee cake is a wonderful addition to any special breakfast, but this one would be perfect for Christmas. I had pinned it to my original Christmas board on Pinterest long before I had such a thing as a Christmas Breakfast board. So now I have pinned this Eggnog Coffee Cake to that board, too. That way I can't lose track of it! If I find myself with time to bake on a cool summer morning (assuming we have some), I will be trying this recipe out ahead of time!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

This card isn't exactly vintage, but I think it is so pretty. The artist may be Chuck Sumerlin, but I'm not sure. It resembles other cards I have seen by him, where most of the scene is in black and white, and the buildings are exquisitely drawn. Detailed, too.

And then the horses and sled, the man and little boy and the Christmas tree are all in color, but colors with a muted vintage feel to them. This just evokes childhood memories for me. I hope you all enjoy seeing this lovely card, too!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Are you like me -- resolving every year that this year you will be more organized with your Christmas preparations? This post: Freezer Cooking for the Holidays from Crystal at Money Saving Mom will definitely move all of us toward that goal, particularly when it comes to kitchen gifts, or treats to have on hand for guests or unexpected company.

For years I have stored baked Christmas cookies in tins in the freezer, or on a cold back porch, for Christmas gift-giving. Sometimes I have even baked tea breads or fruitcakes and frozen them. But Crystal has many more ideas, and her suggestions are great. Check them out!

Another thing I've done is to make and freeze a few pans of uncooked lasagna to bake as needed. Great for when you have a busy day or a houseful of company. You could do this with any other freezable main dish, too.

Why not look through your Christmas notebook to see how you could implement freezer cooking into your Christmas planning this year? You'll be glad you did!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Over the years I've saved many ideas in a folder labeled "Christmas crafting" in my Yahoo inbox. This one, a blog post from Twelve Crafts Till Christmas concerning Handmade Holiday Tips, is very, very helpful as we begin to plan (or continue to plan) our handcrafted gifts.

I'll let you follow the link and check it out for yourself -- and if I were you I would print out the post and put it somewhere safe, like my Christmas notebook. I think this is something I probably need to re-read as I plan my handcrafted gifts each year. There are eight incredibly helpful tips, including the need to be realistic about your level of crafting skill in various areas.

(And I would add to that the need to be realistic about how long a particular project is going to take you. Invariably I underestimate how long something is going to take.)

Another important thought is to consider your recipient. Yes, you love to craft gifts and most people love receiving something handmade. But others do not, so know your recipient. And then there is the matter of allergies and sensitivities when thinking about food gifts or anything scented. It used to be that homemade cookies or a loaf of bread were always a safe bet. Not so much anymore, with so many people avoiding wheat and gluten. So you can see that this tip is a very valuable one.

I'll be printing this out and putting it in my Christmas notebook. How about you?

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Happy Rudolph Day to all! Some of my friends at the Our Home for the Holidays craft forum took part in a Christmas in July gift exchange and I know they will be opening their gifts today. Such a crafty, thoughtful bunch of ladies -- the gifts will be fantastic and fun, I know. The house at the top of the post was included in the gift package I received one year when I was able to take part in the swap. My friend Les excels in making these putz houses and I was so excited to receive one!

One site I visited for Rudolph Day ideas suggested that during July, one should plan to have all of the stocking stuffers purchased. I think that's not a bad idea! For quite a few of our empty-nest years, my hubby and I filled stockings for one another. In recent years we've decided to forgo even the stocking stuffers and save all of our gift money to spend on getaways during the year. It's actually much more meaningful and fun for us than buying gifts would be!

Another idea I found was that if you are making your own Christmas cards, July is a good time to get that done.

And yet another thought is to check your list and make sure at least half of your gifts are purchased or made. Good ideas!

Friday, July 24, 2015

I've had this project pinned for some months now to my Crafting for Christmas Pinterest board. This idea for Salt & Pepper Angels is from Tuula at The Thrifty Rebel
and is so cute. I love that it repurposes a number of different
items. Other people must like it too, because almost every day someone
is repinning this.

As you can see, the base of each
angel is a salt or pepper shaker minus its shaker top. Each is filled
with beads with a touch of glitter. The wings are butterfly shapes cut
from old sheet music -- in this case, Christmas carols.

Back to the angels -- the heads are tiny Christmas
balls and the halos repurposed objects like jump rings or washers. Bits
and pieces of trim form the collars and arms.

I
think that I have everything I need to make some of these. My salt and
pepper shakers are more on the square side, but I think they will still
be cute even though not as graceful a shape as these. You could make
these now and have them ready for Christmas!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

In the Readers' Poetry Corner of the November/December 1988 issue of Country Woman, I found a lovely poem by Hilda Sanderson of Calhoun, Louisiana. I'm so glad she mentions "faith so sweet" in the last stanza, for without that there would be no real Christmas at all. Jesus' coming to earth is the true Reason for the season -- without His coming to die for our sins there is nothing to celebrate. And indeed, there would be no real love in our hearts to share with others ... for that, too, springs from our relationship with Jesus. Our families, and the love we share, are gracious gifts from Him.

The Gifts We're GivenIf every gift was taken fromBeneath the Christmas tree,And everything was gone exceptThe love of family ...Then we would still have everything That makes the season real,For Christmas joy is in the wayWe make each other feel.Just as long as love was thereAlong with faith so sweet,We'd still have a Christmas thatWas perfectly complete.~ Hilda Sanderson

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

This recipe I'm about to share is probably the most often repinned item on my Snacks to Share Pinterest board. It's being repinned a lot right now, I'm sure because it's summer and fresh fruit is so good and abundant right now. Here's the link: Coconut Cream Fruit Dip. It's been repinned over 150 times so far!

Jocelyn, at Inside BruCrew Life, has such a knack for devising truly wonderful recipes of all types, but her specialty is sweets. This recipe looks so delicious and easy, and it uses just a few ingredients -- cream cheese, canned cream of coconut, marshmallow cream, and whipped topping. Rum extract is also suggested, which I personally would not use, but Jocelyn says that vanilla extract may be substituted.

Although this is a summery flavor -- and would be a fun treat to try right now -- it would also be pretty at Christmas with strawberries or red and green grapes. The dip itself has such a pretty snowy look! Have fun with this recipe!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I think this card is from the 1980s, so it's not super old or an antique, but I believe it's probably still considered vintage as it's over 30 years old. It's a very pretty design -- applique with touches of embroidery.

I love the cross stitched border and the embroidered touches in particular. The embroidered fir branches look so real!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Wouldn't it be fun to have some really interesting, meaningful conversations, that the kids could also take part in, around the dinner table on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? A few years ago my hubby and I took a little getaway in August and visited a Christmas shop in the area we were visiting. I found a neat little round box of Christmas conversation starters and purchased it. I actually remembered to bring it out and use it on Christmas Eve that year, but have forgotten it until now. This year the grandkids might enjoy it even more, now that they are older.

If your family could use some help getting a fun conversation going, check out this idea from Cindy at Skip to My Lou. She has some free printable Christmas conversation starters that you might like to use. The questions are printed in the center of pretty green and red wreaths, so they are pretty and festive as well.

Or, you might like to just take this idea and make up some interesting conversation starter cards of your very own. It could be really fun to personalize them to suit your own family yet still make the questions general enough so a guest of any age could answer. This would be an easy project to do for Christmas in July and have all of your conversation cards ready for the holiday dinners!

The only tricky part looks to be attaching the lights to the back of the frame, but Melanie shows some clear photos of the process. If you are handy, or have a handy friend or husband, you should be able to manage that just fine. This is such a fun project for displaying Christmas cards as they arrive at your house, but I think if I were to make one, I would use it for displaying my vintage Christmas cards. What about you?

Saturday, July 18, 2015

One thing I loved about growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was that so many lovely paper goods were available for holidays. Today, it's sort of like that again. I have found very pretty paper napkins at the Christmas Tree Shop, Dollar Tree, and even Walmart. But it's hard to beat the vintage paper goods from the mid-twentieth century, don't you agree?

I recently found a small and long-stored stash of vintage paper goods in my dad's cupboard. Not anything he will ever use. These napkins (which have a matching tablecloth) have a scalloped edge and a pretty design of gold stars along with a border of pine needles, holly, and little green pine cones. So sweet. These are Party Papers by Pakay, and a package of 25 napkins cost 30¢ back in the day. I was intrigued to see that these were manufactured by the Nashua Corporation in Nashua, NH.

Hope you've enjoyed this vintage treat as much as I did. What a fun find!

Friday, July 17, 2015

Here is an interesting and easy looking project from the incomparable Bev at Flamingo Toes: Tape-Trimmed Gift Tags. These are made with the printed EZ-Start Packaging Tape, plus felt, card stock, and all sorts of other crafting odds and ends.

This looks like a really fun and creative project to try. Finding the printed tape now, in July, might not be easy. You might try looking online -- or maybe you are fortunate and already have some of this tape on hand.

I think this would be a neat way to use up all those odds and ends of trims and buttons -- and you could even substitute scraps of Christmas wrap for the tape if you were determined to make these tags and couldn't find the tape. My July is looking really busy so I probably won't try this project right away -- but I definitely do hope to make some of these tags!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Here is one more poem for Christmas in July. It is also from the November/December 1990 issue of Country Woman and is titled "Making Merry". It's written by Beulah Sutton Waite of Sullivan, Illinois. Here it is:

MAKING MERRYWhat makes a "merry" ChristmasFrom dawn till close of day?Is it the tree that proudly standsWith lights and trimmings gay,And all the magic packages Beneath in foil so bright?Is it the sparkling snowflakes That clothe the world in white?Is it the homemade welcome wreathThat hangs upon the door,Or perhaps the rich aromasThat from the kitchen pour?The joy of having loved onesTogether for a while,The handclasp of true friendship,Or a neighbor's ready smile?

Stars that shine in children's eyesWhen Santa Claus they see,The story of the Christ ChildAnd of the wise men three?Ah yes, much Christmas happinessEach one of these imparts -- Entwined and held so tenderlyBy love within our hearts.~ Beulah Sutton Waite

The description of the tree and packages in the first stanza reminded me so much of the proud and beautiful tree in my grandmother's "front room" back in the 1950s and 1960s. The second stanza evoked my mother's kitchen, so filled with rich aromas of cookies, fudge, cinnamon swirl bread, and more that we would share with our neighbors. I love the idea too that each of these memories can be "entwined and held so tenderly by love within our hearts." A beautiful thought!

Jocelyn has several recipes for these sugar cookie-type bars, and they are so good! It's nice, too, to be able to make frosted sugar cookies so quickly. These chocolate mint bars could be the hit of your cookie exchange. But they'd be refreshing in summer, too, so don't hesitate to bake up a batch. They don't take long in the oven.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Anyone who has visited my Christmas kitchen very much knows how much I enjoy vintage Christmas cards. And Christmas cards, new or old, that feature images of mailboxes are some of my very favorites.

I guess that this card is from the 1970s or 1980s. What a very different mailbox-themed card it is! I acquired it when I put out an appeal for used cards to utilize in art projects at a Christian school, and have never seen another one like it. What I find so interesting (in addition to the unusual style of the mailbox itself) is the flowers. Where do you suppose this is? It's clearly Christmas time, going by the package wrapping, but it's somewhere flowers are blooming in December. Hawaii? Or Australia or New Zealand? I'll probably never know!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Here's another fun Christmas craft! This is a shadow box -- maybe more of a diorama -- made from an old Christmas card and decorated with all sorts of trims. It has a vintage look (though one need not necessarily use vintage cards) and would, I think, be lots of fun to make. Here is the link: Shadow Boxes from Christmas Cards. The tutorial is very well done and the instructions are clear.

This is one of those crafts that could be made with infinite variations depending on the scene on the card you choose. Snowmen, forest scenes, even manger scenes -- this is an idea you could really have fun with. Another neat thing is that the card itself, with some careful reinforcement and cutting, forms the box. This would be a fun project for older kids, too -- not just adults.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

For today, let's think about a really useful handmade gift -- this Casserole Tote to Sew. I have this pinned to my sewing projects board on Pinterest. Prior to pinning this, I had seen a friend using one of these and was so impressed with how pretty and useful it was. I asked her if she had made it, but no, it had been a gift from someone else. Not long after, I found this project via FaveCrafts.com and promptly pinned it. It has been one of my most repinned pins, so I guess others are interested in this idea too.

As I looked it over in preparation for writing this post, however, I noticed that this project requires the use of a serger, which I do not own.

So I went looking for another tote that did not require use of a serger, and found this one: Casserole Dish Carrier.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

This past holiday season I made a new Pinterest board just for Christmas breakfast. So far I have only a few items pinned to it, but if you are interested in checking it out, here's the link: My Christmas Breakfast Pinterest board.

Actually, I thought for years that I wouldn't care much for peppermint mocha anything. It just didn't sound that great to me. But either last Christmas or the year before, I forget which, I decided to try some coffee creamer in that flavor, and now I am hooked. I'm sure these doughnuts (which I plan to try making this year) would be absolutely delicious. They are a baked doughnut, so lower in fat -- always a plus, in my book. You could try a batch this summer and just leave off the peppermint -- or, serve them on July 25th for Rudolph Day!

Friday, July 10, 2015

It's always so nice to have pretty table settings for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. If you plan ahead, it's a lot easier to make this happen. You can sew table runners and place mats any time, but July is a great time because fabric stores often have Christmas in July sales.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Here's another poem for you during Christmas in July! This is another that I found in the Readers' Poetry Corner of the November/December 1990 issue of Country Woman. This one is by Loise Pinkerton Fritz of Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS

Oh, it's a country ChristmasThat I am dreaming of,With candles in the windowsAnd a home that's filled with love.

With children singing carolsAs they trim the Christmas tree;And Mother in the kitchen Baking treats for you and me.A church upon the hillside,And moonlight on the snow,Oh, it's a country ChristmasThat casts a special glow.~ Loise Pinkerton Fritz

This lovely, nostalgic poem sparks so many memories for me! How about you?

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

I was sure I had posted this recipe here, but apparently not. (I know I've posted the photo, though.) Back in June, I went looking for the recipe on both my blogs. I had made this recipe in summery flavors for a retirement party and wanted to link to the recipe. But a search of both blogs revealed nothing but the photo. So, here is the link: Fruity Pastel Cookies.

Incidentally, if you too are interested in making these cookies for summer, I made several batches of them. I ended up not using the cookie press because the cookies it produces were just bigger than what I wanted. If you have a smaller, older cookie press it would work just fine. These cookies get their pretty color and nice flavor from Jell-O® -- just the dry powder as it comes from the box. So, for summer flavors I used lime, orange, and cherry lemonade. The orange ones were particularly nice, but they were all good.

Hope you enjoy these cookies, whether you try them now or in December!

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

As you can see, "Home for Christmas" is lettered across the bottom of the card.

Some time ago, my friend Ann sent me a packet of gorgeous vintage Christmas cards. I've been sharing them here in my Christmas kitchen from time to time. This is the last one. I wish I knew who the artist was. I have looked with a magnifying glass plus enlarging the scan of the card, trying to see a signature, but I can't find one. On the back of the card is the brand -- The Wishing Well-- and USA, plus a wishing well logo, but no indication at all at to the name of the talented artist.

Click on the photo to make it bigger -- there are some fun details here, like the boy running with the sled and the dog.

The message inside the card. As usual, love those fancy fonts!

The vignette inside the card. Try as I might (again, with enlarging the scan full screen and looking with a magnifier at the card), I can't figure out what he is holding in his left hand. I keep thinking it's a railroad lantern, but it really doesn't look like it. What do you think?

Hope you have enjoyed this beautiful vintage card! And thanks again, Ann, for your thoughtful gift!

Monday, July 06, 2015

If you love bottle brush trees as much as I do, you will probably want to try this project from the amazing Bev at Flamingo Toes -- Faux Vintage Bottle Brush Trees. As you will see, these are crafted not from bottle brushes at all, but from foam cones and sisal rope.

Bev has designed these in a couple different sizes, and notice how the small ones have a base made of a vintage spool of thread. I have a bunch of these on hand!

Bev also gives some great ideas for trimming the trees. Some are even lighted!

Shaping the trees (by "pruning" them with scissors) doesn't look difficult, but it could be messy. This might be a great project to do outside on the picnic table this summer.

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Okay, I may be taking a chance posting this one in July. I know I tend to forget about decorating ideas when I find them too far ahead. But if you have a Christmas notebook or journal, or even just a Christmas file on your computer, and if you enjoy holiday baking as much as I do, you will want to save this idea to use in December.

Vignettes are so appealing in decorating, and Christmas is just a wonderful time to use them. Diane, at An Extraordinary Day, is so gifted at creating vignettes and then photographs them so beautifully to share the how-tos with others. This idea of a Christmas baking vignette is so much fun! This particular idea is a guest post by Sharon of Elizabeth & Co. and it is just lovely.

Not only is it pretty, and not only does it deliver a hefty helping of memories and nostalgia, but it is also useful. The cookie cutters, sprinkles and rolling pin are right there should you want to bake up a batch of cut-out cookies! The tiny tree and the jolly snowman add even more sparkle and fun to the scene.

When you click the link for the baking vignette, you will find that Sharon has shared many more photos to give you a better look as to how she assembled it. I'm pretty sure one of these vignettes is going to find a place in my kitchen this Christmas!

Saturday, July 04, 2015

This isn't going to be an extensive post on small gifts for friends, co-workers, etc. But I wanted to share a few thoughts. This post: 10 Small Gift Ideas to Give to Your Friends by Sarah Beals at Joy-Filled Days will give you some terrific inspiration. Some of her ideas are homemade or put together at home; others are things to buy.

I hope to share a few posts this month about small gifts to make. Some ideas right off the top of my head are coasters, mug mats, tea wallets, dishcloths, potholders --- nice small, uncomplicated projects, some of which could be worked on while traveling or at the lake or the beach. I've made loads of these sorts of projects in the past and have many ideas to share. Stay tuned!

Friday, July 03, 2015

I've been browsing through some of my emails and Pinterest pins to find some interesting and fun projects to share with you for Christmas in July. I thought this one, which I found at Skip to My Lou, looked like a good project to work on in July: Drawstring Gift Bags. The tutorial is by Amy of Positively Splendid. By the time you are ready to wrap your gifts, you could have a nice stack of these pretty gift bags all ready to go!

I love the idea of looking through my fabric stash to find prints to sew up into these nifty bags. And then looking through my stash of ribbons and trims ... what fun on a summer day to sew some of these up in front of an open window. Think I'll be trying this! How about you?

Thursday, July 02, 2015

I'm going to be sharing a few Christmas poems over the course of Christmas in July. I found several in the November/December 1990 issue of Country Woman and enjoyed each one of them. I thought my readers would, too! The first one is "Holiday Cheer" and the poet is Ericka Northrop of Tuscon, Arizona. Here it is:

Holiday CheerChristmas wrappings on the floor,A choir of carolers at the door,A tall and twinkling Christmas treeBedecked with lights for all to see,Sparkling ornaments so jolly,Fragrant pine and shiny holly,Bells that ring out Christmas cheerTo guide us through the coming year.~ Ericka Northrop

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Welcome to Christmas in July at my Christmas kitchen! I hope to be here every day, sharing links for crafts, poems, recipes, memories, ideas and inspiration -- just whatever I can find to help us celebrate!

I thought it would be fun to start this month, with its patriotic holiday, with another vintage card from the parcel my friend Ann sent me awhile back. This one, with its red, white and blue theme, is perfect!

Inside the card ...

As always, the fonts inside the card are so pretty and unusual. I like how the red snowflake edge shows through to the front of the card, too.

Hope you've enjoyed my patriotic vintage card! See you tomorrow for more of Christmas in July!

About Me

I live in scenic northern New England with my handsome husband. We're empty-nesters with a bunch of adorable grandchildren. We love (tent) camping and traveling, but don't get away as often as we'd like to.